An ice age lasting 115,000 years in two minutes
November 6, 2018 by SiÂmone UlÂmer, ETH Zurich
An international research team used a computer model to reconstruct the history of glaciation in the Alps, visualising it in a two-minute computer animation. The simulation aims to enable a better understanding of the mechanisms of glaciation.
Around 115,000 years ago, the last glacial period in the earth's history began. It was an eventful time, as glaciers advanced from the Alps onto the Swiss Plateau, retreated, and then advanced again. In the process, the powerful ice flows carved out valleys, such as the Rhône Valley, bringing rock debris—ranging in size from fine sediment to boulders weighing several tonnes—across the landscape with them. This debris, deposited as moraines, formed the lush, green foothills of the Alps. The heavy boulders, known as erratics, can be found spread out across the Swiss Plateau, in Alpine valleys and in the Jura Mountains.
Read more at:
https://phys.org/news/2018-11-ice-age-years-minutes.html#jCp
